Author: Jon Kirby
On 24-hour cable news networks, talking heads blather on endlessly about the latest controversial government policy-but this time it’s not an intransigent foreign policy or upper echelon corruption. It’s the decision to put murderous supervillains on the federal payroll.
In all the turmoil of Marvel Comics’ catastrophic Civil War, one of the grimmest plot points was Iron Man Tony Stark’s decision to commission a (mostly) new team of Thunderbolts to hunt down errant heroes who resisted government registration and federal sanction. The original Thunderbolts had consisted of the Masters of Evil (bad guys, natch) masquerading as heroes in order to gain public confidence. As the series went on, some of the villains relished in their do-gooder roles and wanted to give up being bad. But the revamped Thunderbolts are unrepentant villains who nonetheless enjoy massive support from the media and the public.
Since issue one, Thunderbolts-originally written by Astro City mastermind Kurt Busiek-has explored the relationship between superheroes and the media. Transmetropolitan scribe Warren Ellis and veteran artist Mike Deodato have taken over the series in its post-Civil War incarnation (beginning with issue #110), and Ellis’ poison pen cuts deep as he mercilessly satirizes a consumer society that would accept a band of bloodthirsty criminals as heroes just because “they” (Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D., cable news talking heads, etc.) say so. And Deodato’s art keeps terrific pace, offering a refreshing dose of gunmetal realism.
Unlike the scheming and morally conflicted Thunderbolts of old, the new team is a cynical and brutal government hit squad, saddled with tracking down rogue heroes. The higher-ups maintain control thanks to “nanites” injected into each member’s bloodstream, the activation of which will render them paralyzed. Meanwhile, shrill commercials hawk Thunderbolts action figures and a reality TV show pits ludicrous wannabes against each other in a competition to gain a spot on the Thunderbolts.
Much of the terrifically ugly bite of the new Thunderbolts comes from the revamped lineup, which mixes familiar faces with surprising new members. The original team consisted of B or C-list villains whose depth and complexity tended to go unnoticed while Spider-Man or Captain America handed them their asses. The old hands that do return are written expertly by Ellis, especially team leader Moonstone, who conveys a deliciously nasty brand of amoral sociopathy.
But the team’s new recruits are even more striking: fan favorite Venom (more high-profile than ever thanks to the upcoming Spider-Man 3, but now with a different guy under the costume) and none other than Daredevil arch-nemesis Bullseye. Capable of turning any object into a lethal weapon, Bullseye is one of the most genuinely irredeemable villains in the Marvel universe and apparently the only member that is impossible to sell to the public: the team has to use Bullseye discreetly, off-camera and keep him duly restrained between missions. As if that wasn’t enough, former Green Goblin Norman Osborn serves as the team’s supervisor, and while he plays the coldly calculating G-man in public, Osborn’s more private moments reveal him to be as insane as ever-and particularly obsessed with bringing down the vigilante Spider-Man.
Ellis sets up a highly-charged, gripping dichotomy in Thunderbolts: a team that enjoys vigorous public support as the epitome of superhuman respectability-but one actually composed of some of the Marvel universe’s most unstable and amoral villains, press ganged into government service. The revamped Thunderbolts represent the bold new Marvel U. at its boldest and bleakest, and this always-excellent book has become a must-read.
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